OK, let’s do a quick review on colour correction so far; in my first blog in this series we’ve talked about the importance of colour temperature, how it’s measured and how that relates in terms of the colour or hue of light. Warm looking light has a low colour temperature and cold looking light has a higher colour temperature. We’ve said that the colour temperature of natural daylight is 5,600K but changes throughout the day and we’ve now talked about how to convert (or correct) tungsten light into daylight using specific blue colour temperature gels know as CTB gels. Now I want to move on and discuss HMI’s (these produce daylight) and how we can convert them into Tungsten light or give the HMI light a warmer look.

So I thought I’d do a series of blogs all about filters; what they do, how you use them and why they’re so damned handy…

OK, I know you may think that this isn’t perhaps the most exciting subject to read about, but it’s vital for all you budding Directors of Photography and Cinematographers out there, to understand that your ultimate aim is to masteryour craft, and that means having a deep understanding of ALL aspects of camerawork and lighting.

Mastery will get you to the top of your profession; being part of what I call the ‘Mediocre Majority’ will not, and knowing your craft will get you ultimate respect from your colleagues. If you don’t know this basic stuff, then when you work with experienced Lighting Gaffers and ‘Sparks’ you’ll gain zero respect from them, they’ll see you as unprofessional and treat you with contempt… quite right too!

I know I keep banging on about this but remember… a big part of mastering this craft means having a real in-depth understanding of anything and everything to do with camerawork.

So now I’ve had my industry rant let’s get down to work…

I’m going to divide this into a mini series of into 6 easy to understand parts:

Part 1 : What is Colour Temperature?

Part 2: Why Colour Correction filters are used to change colour temperature and how to use them.

Part 3: The most commonly used Filters.

Part 4: Effects filters and how to use them.

Part 5: How and why you use diffusion to soften a light source.

Part 6 : Bringing it all together a practical workshop on colour correction and filming using mixed lighting

So… for those of you who haven’t read part 1, here’s a recap: I’m abroad for the first time, meeting amazing people, getting batted round the face by low hanging palm trees and fooled by locals that Coca Cola is a good substitute for Sunscreen… I’m burnt, as are the rest of the crew, and the production schedule looks like it’ll be thrown out the window… so let’s continue!…

When I first joined the film and TV industry I was 19 years old and had never traveled abroad.

I hadn’t once been away on holiday, not even to Bognor Regis! (for those of you who don’t know, Bognor Regis is a seaside resort in West Sussex, on the south coast of England. Typical weather; always raining! Well it is in the UK what do you expect?!).

Little did I know that when I finally managed to wedge my foot into the iron clad industry door how things would change.

Within less than 12 months of joining the industry as an assistant cameraman, I was assigned to a BBC documentary that was to be shot in the Gulf of Mexico. Before I knew it I was jabbed in the butt with every inoculation under the sun and found myself on a Boeing 747 drinking Margaritas in First Class with the rest of the film crew bound for Miami, USA. Not bad for my first trip abroad!…

So I’m trying something a bit different here… I’m thinking “bite-sized blogs” – I thought shorter, quicker to read blogs (interspersed amongst more substantial ones) might be enjoyable for people who want a ‘quick fix’. Let me know if you like the idea, just a thought!

So this one is short and sweet. We’ve been busy over here at Free Spirit – we’re getting a lot of interest in our courses so I’ve been a bit snowed under of late! I appreciate that it’s been a week or so since my last post so I thought I’d bash this one out to give you something to chew on while I’m working on more substantial posts.

Just a quick, cheeky note, I’ve added a donation button to the side of the blog. If you feel like these posts are helpful in any way, financial support would really be greatly appreciated and will help keep this blog going!

Ok anyway, onwards! Continuing my series on Lighting for Film & TV here are a few tips for making sure you’re giving your subject the best chance of looking great on camera (sometimes they need all the help they can get!!). If you havent already checked out part 1 and part 2 (all about the basics and 3 point lighting respectively, I’d recommend checking them out). These are more ‘tidbits’ if you will, things I’ve picked up over the years. It’s nothing too substantial, but …

Hey There!

My name's Chris Weaver and I know how hard it can be to break into the film/tv industry so I'm going to try and share with you information, tips, tricks & insider knowledge (as well as some bloody funny stories) from my 30 years experience as a Film & TV cameraman. Just drop by when you’ve got nothing better to do and have fun!

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